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ALFALFA CULTURE.
AddKM l>y Thomas .T. Bttphawon, nt tlio
Annual Coin out ion of Hit- California
Slate Dairymen's Association.
As the feed for my cows consists
almost entirely of alfalfa, I think it
will be well at this time to tell how I
mow this feed.
First, as to the time of sowing, 1
have had the best success by sowing
the seed during the month of March.
Next, the preparation of the ground:
Taking an old alfalfa field that needs
re-sowing, I do not plow the land, for
the reason that the plow cuts off the
crown of the plant, and a new shoot
or plant very seldom, if ever, starts
up from the root again. But take the
crown or head of the plant and bury
it in the ground and it will throw out
new roots and new shoots, and make
a vigorous plant. Instead of the plow,
I use the right lap disc, putting four
horses on a disc that cuts about twen
ty-four inches, the four discs being
set six inches apart.
I cut the ground one way, cutting
about four inches deep, setting the
disc at a slight angle, in order not to
cut off the crowns of the alfalfa; then
I cross the land with the disc in the
opposite direction from the first cut
ting; then again I cross the land in
the same direction as the first time.
If the ground is in good tilth, and a
fine seed bed by this third cutting, I
stop the disc; if not, I cut it the
fourth time. This is really a slow
process, as it is equal to plowing the
land once with a six-inch plow. But
it pays to use the disc. By the time
the ground has been gone over three
or four times with the disc, the crowns
of the old alfalfa plants will be cut
and sliced into many pieces. This is
just what is needed by the old plant.
It takes new vigor and will grow bet
ter than a new plant, just as an old
peach tree will throw out new branch
es by vigorous pruning of the old tree.
By using the disc instead of the plow,
you save the old plants.
Next comes the seeding. I sow on
the prepared land about eighty pounds
of barley to the acre. I sow the barley,
not as a nursing crop, but to insure a
crop of hay if the alfalfa should fail.
Oats will not ripen with the first
crop of alfalfa on our lands but the
barley does.
After the barley has been sowed,
I harrow it in, then roll the ground
with a roller or drag a clod-masher
over it. Then I sow about thirty
pounds of alfalfa seed to the acre,
using a Pacific seed sower, such as is
used in sowing wheat; then harrow
the seed in with a common spike
toothed harrow. Go over the ground
with a clod-masher, then with the roll
er, and the field is finished. You need
not go to it again, except to see if the
crop is ready to cut.
This clod-masher of which I spoke
is made by nailing one by six-inch
bords together, like the weather-board
ing on a house.
Feeding the Cows.
During the months of December,
January and February the cows are
let into the barn about 3 o'clock p. m.
each day, their afternoon feed having
been placed before the stanchions dur
ing the earlier part of the day. This
feed consists of about thirty pounds
of silage, this silage being the first
crop of alfalfa, and is a mixture of
alfalfa, burr-clover, alfilaria and fox
tail, with some weeds, about one-half
being alfalfa. In addition to this si
lage the cows are fed all the alfalfa
hay that they will eat.
Alter the evening milking, the cows
are turned out of the barn, and they
go to a field of about six acres, for
water, and another feed of alfalfa hay,
which has been put from an outside
stack into the feeding mangers in the
field.
The cows remain in the barn only
during the time of the morning and
afternoon milkings, except when a
cold rainstorm comes. Then I keep
them up at night while the storm lasts.
After close observation and many
years experience, I find that the health
of the cows is better and they do bet
ter by keeping them in the open as
much as possible. Give them all they
will eat at all times and the rain will
not hurt them. This turning of the
cows out at night is practiced by all
of the dairymen in my section.
In the evening, after the cows have
been turned out of the barn, some hay
is put in the mangers for them to eat
while they are being milked the next
morning. Immediately after the morn
ing milking the cows go to the feeding
field where hay is put into the mangers
for them, and the cows eat all they
want until evening. I feed no grain,
or squash, or roots or corn. This way
of feeding is practiced daily during the
months of December, January and
February.
I have small views of the field man
gers which will help me to explain
their construction and use. These man
gers are sixteen feet long, four feet
wide at the floor, and one foot high
from the floor to the top. The length
of the legs, from top of manger to the
ground is two feet and seven inches.
It is five feet threee inches wide at
top, three feet and nine inches where
the legs stand on the ground, all out
side measurements. The legs, railing
on top, and cross braces are of two
by four pine; the floor, sides and ends
are of one by twelve redwood. There
is no brace lengthwise at the bottom
of the legs; this has been left off, so
that the manger could be easily turned
upside down, or onto a short bob-sled,
when moving to a fresh feeding place.
The advantages of this measure are
many. They are easily moved from
place to place. They save the feed,
keep it clean, since the cows cannot
run over it; being four feet wide, the
cows cannot throw the feed out; being
low, they are easily filled from the
wagon, and the cows can eat from
them without fox-tail and other seeds
into their eyes and ears.
I have twenty-five of these mangers
in each field. I set them in a row and
about ten feet apart. I have a picture
which shows the appearance of the
mangers after they have been filled
and other views which show how read
ily the cows come to eat. They stand
at the mangers with much order and
dignity. Much of this orderliness Is
due to the fact that they have no
horns. Since dehorning they eat, drink,
and walk together and go into the
barn or corral in a quiet and orderly
manner.
I have a view of the wagon used in
the feediing; the frame is sixteen feet
long and eight feet wide, with a
smooth floor and no wheelhouses. An
other views shows the watering place
adjoining the feeding fields. The cows
have access to this watering place at
all times of the day or night. The fur
nishing of an abundance of good water
is of so much importance that it is
hard to conceive how aften it is over
looked or neglected.
During the month of March and part
of April the cows feed on the pasture
THE RANCH.
Here is a Watch
tON. F°** ion!
Jjo*l^j^'- The Ranch
ill 111 HUH IN ORDER in increase our circula
llM\Vk nIWMi 'on to 20,000 copies, we have made
m-lkv^S /^^^S. 4*I'PJS a large contract for Ingersoll
7vE 3)^ J/Jmi Watches, to be supplied direct from
factory. The regular price of this
watch is $1.00. If you will forward
us $1.00 we will send you THE
RANCH six months, and mail you one
The Famous Ingersoll. of these watches
ABSOLUTELY FREE!
The watch we are offering you comes from one of the largest manu
facturies of the United States. The output is from 6,000 to 8,000
watches a day. American skill, modern machinery, and the fact that
these watches are manufactured in very large quantities, permits of
their being sold at a price that is apparently ridiculous.
GUARANTEE
Manufacturer's One Year Guarantee in back of each case that this
watch will keep good time. Should it fail to do so repairs will be made
free of charge. 'S-s^l V>"
This is a bona fide offer; we lose money on it, but it's your subscrip
tion we are after. We want your support. Every farmer in the North
west ought to support The Ranch.
Do not delay. Remit by Postofflce Money Order, Registered Letter or
Wells Fargo & Co. Address all orders to
THE RANCH, '•
Leading Farm Paper .... IT WASH
of the Northwest ...»«*A i. i. l+X*, WASH.
of altalia, rox-tail, burr clover, altilaria
and rye grass during the day; at night
they are fed alfalfa hay in the field.
By the 15th of April the alfalfa is
usually far enough advanced to make
it profitable to cut and feed to the
cows, keeping the cows off the large
fields and confined to the two small
fields. I use two fields for feeding, so
that all the feed for both day and
night may be put in the mangers dur
ing the morning and the feeding be
finished by 12 o'clock noon.
Cutting the Crop.
From the 15th of April to the last of
November the routine of feeding varies
little. The alfalfa grows rapidly and
it is an easy matter to arrange the
cutting so that it can be cut when it
is of the greatest food value. This
will be when the flowering period of
the plant is about one-fourth advanced.
There will be some flowers open, but
most of them will be just ready to
open. The color of the field will have
changed from a vivid green to a bluish
green. If cut before this period the
alfalfa will bloat the cows; if cut when
fully in flower it will have become
woody and have lost much of its
food value. If I find at any time that
the alfalfa will be too old before it
can be cut for feed, I have all the field
cut out and made into hay, and feed
this hay to the cows for a few days
instead of the green feed. The change
does the cows good, and the hay, cut
at the right time, has a much greater
feeding value than over-ripe green
stuff. After the first time of cutting
over the fields, however, there will be
no trouble in having a supply for cut
ting as it is needed, as the fields will
then lie in steps as it were, as to ad
vancement in growth, and that cut
first, in four to six weeks, will be ready
..^ cut again.
Now as to the method of feeding
this green food: when we are ready
to begin cutting, after the morning
milking is done, one of the milkers
goes to the field with the mowing ma
chine, and cuts enough for twenty
four hours' feed. Then he unhitches
the team from the machine, and hitch
es up to a two-horse rake and rakes
the stuff innto small windrows. These
windrows are necessarily small, for the
reason that there ia no wire-tooth rake
in the market that will stand the strain
put upon it when raking this fresh
cut alfalfa and make windrows more
than from twelve to sixteen apart.
These windrows are then made into
small bunches by hand with pitch
forks, putting the widths of three
swaths of the mowing machine into
one bunch; this leaves room for the
wagon to be driven between the rows
of bunches, and the wagon can be load
ed from both sides at the same time,
and no man is needed on the wagon.
After the wagon is loaded, it is driv
en to the feeding field and the load is
put into the mangers. The cows are
ready for it, having been turned di
rectly from the milking corral into the
field. Two loads of green feed, not
weighed, but estimated to be one and
one-half tons is enough to feed one
hundred and fifty cows during the
day of twelve hours. Two loads of
green alfalfa and a small load of hay
are then put in the other feeding field
for the night feed, and the cows go to
this after the evening milking. Each
cow will consume from eighty to one
hundred pounds of fresh-cut alfalfa in
twenty-four hours.
At times during the summer the
(Continued on Page 15.)